


It doesn’t count if you wear gloves

by toska_sobachja



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Gloves, Hand Jobs, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ryuji’s POV, Sexual Confusion, pegoryu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 07:49:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16850050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toska_sobachja/pseuds/toska_sobachja
Summary: Ryuji can’t stop thinking about Ren’s gloves.





	It doesn’t count if you wear gloves

The battle is over and Ren is fixing his gloves with a sassy grin. This almost compulsive gesture always draws Ryuji’s eyes to the leader’s hands. The slender fingers move nimbly while Ren pulls the edge of the glove a little. It already fits perfectly so the gesture is meaningless, but infatuating nonetheless. The red leather creaks. Rjuji swallows.

He clenches his fists mindlessly, hearing his own gloves creak, and wonders whether Joker’s leather feels different on the skin. Theirs phantom thieves’ costumes look nothing alike after all. Would Ren mind if he asked to touch his gloves? Would that be weird..? Damn, of course it would be fucking weird!

Ryuji’s train of thought quickly goes in the wrong direction and crashes into the wall of his own embarrassment. Still Ren’s gloves attract his attention anyway. Imagining the feeling of Joker’s hands covered in this thin layer of leather gently caressing Ryuji’s-

“Good job, guys, that was the last shadow!”

Futaba’s voice startles Ryuji and he quickly looks around, to see if someone has noticed what he’s been staring at. Luckily, most of the team is too tired to pay attention to his suspicious behavior. On the other hand, Ryuji, who’s spent most of the day backing the team up and barely doing any fighting, is feeling quite energetic. Too energetic even for his own liking. Staring at Ren’s hands also didn’t help him to calm down. Ryuji sighs. It’s going to be another one of those days when he goes to the gym and works out till he’s nearly unconscious or just wonders around the city center aimlessly to shake off this weird excitement.

After leaving Mementos the phantom thieves split up: each of them has their own stuff to do. It’s so frustrating how busy everyone is all the time, especially Ren. God knows what this guy’s doing, but he’s practically never free. Especially after visiting Mementos. Especially when Ryuji’s in one of those… moods.

Ryuji looks up, expecting to see his friend hurrying away, but instead sees Ren leaning against the wall and staring at his phone mindlessly. The way he looks outside of the Metaverse still feels too contradicting: his bad posture and those huge glasses that cover his face are nothing like the daring and slick outfit he wears as a phantom thief. In real life he looks shy and timid, in a cute kind of way. Just a normal teenager, lost in a huge city, away from his hometown.

Thinking about their strong talented leader like that brings a warm smile to Ryuji’s face. He comes up to Ren and slams a hand on his shoulder with a friendly “hey, leader!” The other boy sinks under the weight of Ryuji’s arm and fixes his glasses instinctively. Another one of those compulsive gestures that are somehow both: unbearably annoying and unbearably enchanting.

“Have any plans tonight?” Ryuji asks, forgetting to sound a little less excited.

Ren shakes his head which makes the blond boy grin happily and mischievously.

“Then how ‘bout a workout at the gym? What do you think? I’ve got some energy to spare!” Ryuji just hopes he sounds not as desperate as he actually is right now. But Ren nods and all the worries are instantly forgotten.

The two boys go to the gym, chatting on the way there. Well, more like Ryuji talking and Ren reacting with his usual brief responses and quick nods. Everyone on the team has long been used to the curly boy’s manner of communication though. Talking to their leader has actually proven to be comforting: he is a good listener and gives great advice. This time, however, chatting with Ren doesn’t help Ryuji relax. On the contrary, the longer they talk the more nervous he gets. And there’s seemingly no reason behind this nervousness, which frustrates Ryuji greatly. By the time the two of them get to the gym, he’s even more on edge than he was after running around Mementos, staring at Joker’s damn gloves.

Ryuji’s frustration only grows in the locker room, where he has to see Ren change in the corner of his eye. He sighs and tries to clear his head, but the suppressed thoughts of Joker’s gloves come up again and Ryuji frowns. Why is his mind so uncooperative today?

The training goes just the way it usually does and it actually helps Ryuji forget his worries. At least for a little while. … But not for long, really. In fact, just until it’s time to hit the showers. It’s been some time since he went to the gym together with Ren so he’s actually forgotten about this part. The part when he has to be extremely mindful of what he looks at or thinks about in order not to get an accidental boner right next to his best friend. And it takes a lot of willpower not to look or think.

The good thing is that the stalls are separated by plastic panels. The bad thing is they’re half transparent. So this is bad because a) Ryuji has to try not to stare at the silhouette of Ren taking a shower in the stall next to him and b) he also has to be extra careful not to show his… excitement.

“Don’t look, don’t look,” Ryuji chants to himself stepping into the stall next to Ren. The leader of the thieves is humming some pleasant melody to the rhythm of the water drops hitting the bathroom walls. Ryuji grits his teeth and tries to keep himself in check.

The most important part is to finish taking a shower as fast as he can so that he’s the first one to put his clothes on. Ryuji rushes out of the shower as soon as he’s done and frantically starts getting dressed.

“Ryuji, did you take my underwear?” the boy winces, hearing his name, and turns around only to meet Ren’s confused gaze. He has just stepped out of the shower and his bottom half is covered loosely with a towel. Ryuji can’t bear to look.

“Wha-? I didn’t-”

“You’re wearing it,” Ren says simply, pointing right at Ryuji’s crotch.

“Huh?! For real?” bewildered, Ryuji looks down and sees red trunks instead of his yellow briefs. He must have been in such a hurry he accidentally grabbed the wrong pair of underwear.

“I- uuuuhhhh… Sorry! Ha-ha!” Ryuji scratches his head with a wide light-hearted grin, attempting to hide his embarrassment. He looks at Ren, checking his reaction. The boy doesn’t seem annoyed at least, though he has raised a brow at Ryuji’s weird behavior. A few seconds pass with both of them just staring at each other.

“Can you give them back?” Ren asks evenly, once again catching Ryuji off guard with his question.

“Sure! Ha-ha! Sorry…” Ryuji grabs his own underwear and turns around to change. This is so embarrassing! Ren is right behind, probably watching him.

The boys finish dressing up and leave. The whole time Ren barely speaks. It’s his normal behavior, but Ryuji can’t seem to wonder whether he’s thinking that his friend is acting weird today.

“You’re acting weird today. Is everything alright?” Ren asks on the way out and Ryuji’s body just freezes instantly.

“Uhhh… Yeah, I’m fine! What’d you mean?” Ryuji lets out an awkward giggle that damns him completely.

“You look distracted every time we go into Metaverse. Something bothering you?” Ren’s questions are as ruthless as ever. He just doesn’t beat around the bush, does he?

“I- uhhh… Well… Not really..?”

Suddenly Ren turns to Ryuji and puts a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. And nods.

That’s it. That’s his ultimate weapon. Ryuji knows he can’t stand against those immense persuasion powers so he gives up with a sigh.

“Well… To be honest I was kinda looking at your gloves..? You know, the way you constantly fix them… it’s just- uhhhh… Well, you get the idea..?”

There is a short pause and then Ren nods once again with a determined expression on his face as if he understood everything and removes his hand from Ryuji’s shoulder.

The topic is dropped and the two barely talk till they part ways.

Back home Ryuji kicks the door of his room open, frustrated and confused, dumps his half-empty schoolbag on the floor and falls onto his bed face down. Today has been a total disaster. He embarrassed himself in front of Ren and also mentioned the gloves, which was completely random and made no sense at all. His friend is probably thinking how weird Ryuji is acting recently.

Anyway, since when has talking to Ren become so unbearable?! And it’s not just talking: simply being around him, looking at him and thinking about him too. But being apart from Ren is somehow even worse. To Ryuji these feelings are not completely foreign or incomprehensible and that scares him even more: on some level he realizes what’s happening. He just refuses to admit it to himself. That he’s got a crush on his best friend. And thinking about it scares Ryuji, because he’s never been into other guys before.

‘No way is this happening. We’re just really good friends.’ It’s what he wants to think, but every time he sees Ren and excitement overwhelms him, Ryuji’s mind just goes blank. No amount of self-persuasion can overpower this avalanche of raw feelings he gets while looking at Joker fixing his gloves after a battle.

Did Ren really understand everything? Is it so obvious that Ryuji has a crush on him? Will the leader avoid him now? Or kick him out of the group entirely? What if he tells anyone?

Ryuji has to surpass the urge to text Ren, because he knows he’s going to mess up things even more if he does. For now there’s no need to panic: no way Ren already knows everything. The situation hasn’t turned into a complete disaster yet. Ryuji just has to be patient and wait till he gets a chance to explain everything to his friend in person.

***

The next day the Phantom thieves go to Metaverse once again, but as soon as their costumes change, everybody stops to look at Ren who’s taking his gloves off.

“What are you doing, Joker?” Morgana asks.

“They distract Ryuji,” Ren says simply, pulling on each of the fingers on his left glove before it slides off his hand elegantly.

“Wha-? There’s no need to take them off, seriously, man!” Ryuji protests, while the team simply stares at this curious exchange.

Ren waves at Ryuji dismissively, signaling that it’s really not a problem, and goes on to take the other glove off.

“Hey Joker! Don’t want to be a party pooper or anything, but I’m not sure you can take your gloves off,” – Futaba’s voice intervenes from inside her persona – “I’ve checked your stats and your defense just seriously dropped. Those gloves might actually be more protective than you think.”

“What do you mean?” Yusuke asks, checking his own gloves in confusion.

“I’m saying that if you take your gloves off your costume won’t be complete and your defense will lower immediately. Sounds ridiculous, I know! But think about it as one of those rpg amulets with 999 physical defense. Makes sense that our costumes’ accessories are like that too. We’re in Metaverse after all.”

Ren nods and puts his gloves back on with a swift gesture that makes Ryuji’s insides twirl. After seeing that he’s going to be even more absent-minded than ever. Ren shakes his head at Ryuji with an ‘I’m sorry’ look before everyone goes back to their usual business. At least now it’s clear that he doesn’t know the reason behind Ryuji’s weird behavior. Now everything should be back to normal.

The rest of the day is once again spent staring at Joker’s gloves and spacing out while recalling his half-naked body in the shower with the drops of water dripping from his damp hair on his bare chest and-

“Ryuji!” – Joker’s voice startles him – “Are you ok?”

Ryuji looks around. The boys are standing at the exit of the Metaverse, just the two of them. Everyone has already left. He must have been spacing out way too much. Joker has a preoccupied look on his face.

“Sorry about the gloves. Didn’t realize they annoy you this much,” – he says apologetically – “I’ll try to stop fixing them. Just a bad habit.”

“No-no-no! You can fix them all you want! It’s not annoying!” Ryuji quickly objects.

Joker tilts his head curiously.

“Is something wrong with the gloves then?”

“N-no! Of course not! The gloves are great! I-I love your gloves!” – Ryuji’s awkward explanation makes Ren raise a brow. He gives Ryuji a puzzled look – “Ah, damn it!”

“Do you want to try my gloves on?”

“No! I just- ah man this sounds fucked up even in my head. Just forget it!”

Ren continues to stare expectedly until Ryuji breaks silence again.

“Ok fine! I- … god damn it! I just like watching your hands in those gloves, you know? When I watch you fix them I feel… uuuhhh

“Irritated?” Joker suggests.

“No, I told you, I’m not irritated by it!”

 “Relaxed?” Ren guesses again.

“No, the opposite of relaxed!”

“Frustrated?”

“Ugh! No! Like- Like the opposite of relaxed but in a good way!” Ryuji can’t believe he’s playing a guessing game about his feelings when he clearly needs to stay away from this topic altogether.

“Excited?” Joker finally says and before Ryuji can stop himself he starts nodding readily, as if they’ve been playing charades and just won a round.

When the joy of cracking the mystery fades, Ryuji realized he’s just told his best friend he’s excited to watch him fix his gloves. That can’t be good.

“Ugh, I told you it sounds weird. Just forget it, dude…”

But before Ryuji turns around to forcefully finish the dialogue Ren puts his hands in front of him and starts fixing his gloves, agile fingers making the leather curve and creak with a pleasant sound.

“Like this?” he asks, seemingly curious.

Ryuji gulps and nods too eagerly. Joker on the other hand seems puzzled by his friend’s reaction. A few moments pass during which Ryuji just stares at Ren playing with his gloves, mouth slightly open, holding his breath. Until Joker just starts laughing playfully, as he rarely does, scaring Ryuji half-dead.

“If you like my gloves that much, you should get yourself a pair outside of Metaverse,” he says, smiling at his friend, seemingly oblivious.

“I don’t like your gloves!” – Ryuji protests, but then remembering he has to keep his secret safe – “I mean… I like your gloves, but I kinda like the hands more. H-hands in gloves I mean! … Damn! Why the fuck talking is so hard?!”

“You like the way my hands look in gloves?” Joker inquires, his voice already dead serious again.

Such a straightforward question gets Ryuji completely off guard. After a few seconds of hesitation, he answers.

“Y-yeah. Is- is that alright?”

Ren nods with a teasing smile and lifts his hands once again right in front of Ryuji’s face.

“Look all you want.”

At this point Ryuji isn’t sure if he’s being flirted with or laughed at, so he does the first thing that seems appropriate in this situation. He says he has to go and just runs away as fast as he can.

Sometimes talking to Ren is just too scary, because to Ryuji it seems like he sees right through him, no matter how hard he tries to hide his true feelings.


End file.
